Apartment fire routes Budd Lake residents

The fire started in a downstairs unit of a 16-unit building.
Officer Mark Carlstrom responded to a call at 3:45 p.m. to find
smoke pouring from the front window of the apartment, and a rear
bedroom in flames. No one was home in the unit at the time, but the
residents pet cat died in the fire, authorities said. Fire
Marshall Fred DeToro called the fire accidental in origin, possibly
caused by an electrical malfunction. According to Christine
Falconi, office manager for the complex, the other residents
evacuated the building. Everything was extremely orderly, Falconi
said, the residents were very cooperative. The Budd Lake Fire
Department responded and was joined by firefighters from Flanders
and Netcong. Two firefighters, Mike Ward and Sean Clemmer, were
treated at the scene for heat exhaustion, but Detoro said they were
able to return to work on the fire. The police and fire
departments did a superb job, Falconi said. We are very fortunate
no one else was injured. Falconi said the damage to the
first-floor unit, where two people lived, was quite extensive,
and the unit directly above, with one resident, had smoke damage.
The residents of both units were placed in temporary housing
arranged for by Village Green and the American Red Cross. Falconi
said the residents would return to live at the Village Green.

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